“That beer tastes better going down than coming up.”
“Oh, Lord,” I mutter, and Maureen crosses her arms at him. If you look closely, you can see fire coming from her ears.
She turns to me. “Ella, thank you for driving him home, but you should go.” She points me to the door.
“Okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t know he was drinkingthatmuch tonight.”
“Don’t worry. This is all on him, not you. Okay?”
I nod and see myself out. He’s definitely going to regret this in the morning. His dad’s going to give him hell. I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t drag him up to the front pew in church tomorrow and make him sit there by himself.
Chapter 14
Jesse
Arriving at the big house, I take a moment to collect my thoughts before heading inside. My parents are in the living room. When I asked about Addison, they said she was upstairs, so that’s where I head. Memories of when I was her age play through my head. The number of times I’ve been in her shoes… although it was always Mom or Dad coming through my bedroom door after they found chew in my sock drawer, empty beer cans in my truck bed or cigarettes in my glovebox. Ella, though, that girl got me in trouble more than any of those things. Combined. They just didn’t know it.
Eleven years ago
“I can’t believe I convinced you to go skinny dipping,” Ella teases, our skin still wet from the cold creek water.
We came to go fishing but I should’ve known. If she’s along to do anything, it never goes according to plan.
“Baby, you could tell me to crawl home from here and I would.”
She snorts out a laugh and then covers her mouth only to laugh harder about it.
“You love me.” She nudges my arm.
I smile. “I do.”
We’re sitting on the tailgate of my truck, with a blanket around us. It’s late; the stars are the only light casting over us in the darkness of the night. Ella leans against me, begging for another kiss. Of course, I have no objections.
The way her body is shaking tells me the blanket around us isn’t doing much. I’m quickly warming up though as the heat this kiss holds builds in intensity.
“I should get you home,” I whisper, even though I wish it wasn’t true.
Her grin is mischievous. “We have a little time yet.” Her lips land on my neck.
“El …”
“Please,” she murmurs.
Pulling back to bat her pretty green eyes at me, I can’t say no. Her hands have been all over me with an urgency the last ten minutes.
“Fine,” I mutter and bring her closer. “I don’t think we have time for itall,though.” I kiss her.
“Yes, we do,” she says, climbing up onto my lap.
“I really can’t be late tonight, babe.” I cut it pretty close last weekend and, to top it off, Mom found a pack of cigarettes in my sock drawer. It was quite the Sunday morning.
“We can be quick,” her fingers tracing their way down my chest in a seductive matter.
“You’re trouble.”
“I know.” She smirks and pushes me down onto my back in the bed ofthe truck.
We get carried away for the next fifteen minutes, and next thing I know, I’m racing her home. The last thing I need is to get in trouble with her parents. I’ll deal with mine, but hers, no thanks.
